Instant Pot Chicken Florentine Pasta is a fast, easy Dump and Start meal. This is the perfect weeknight meal because it is on the table in 20 minutes! The pasta, chicken and spinach are covered in a creamy parmesan cheese and garlic sauce. Instant Pot Chicken Florentine will be your families new go-to meal!
Chicken Florentine- Quick Enough for a Weeknight, Fancy Enough for Date Night!
So let’s talk Date Night for a second. The actual hire a babysitter, leave all the kids home and go out kind of date doesn’t happen over here nearly as often as we’d like it too. (Hello, nursing babies. I see you!)
But you know what DOES happen a lot? At home dates after the kids go to bed. We usually eat dinner and then either watch a little show on Netflix together or pull out a card game. (Side note: have you ever played NERTS? We may or may not wager back massages for the winner..)
We have done the date night after the kids go to bed thing for as long as I can remember. Once night we found ourselves at BJ’s (East coast equivalent of Sam’s Club) before bedtime and we were hungry. #badcombination
We scoured though the frozen food meals trying to find one to throw in the oven while we put the kids to bed, that way we could date night it up as soon as their little heads hit their pillows.
We found a frozen Chicken Florentine. I may also have found a second love. ?
It. Was. So. Good.
Naturally, I never bought the frozen stuff again and made my own version instead. I love that this is so simple to make, yet absolutely show stoppingly delicious.
Plus, spinach tastes a lot better covered in creamy parmesan cheese sauce. ?
How to make Instant Pot Chicken Florentine
Before we get down to the nitty gritty, lets talk chicken. You can add raw chicken chunks at the beginning of the recipe and pressure cook the chicken and pasta at the same time.
I always keep cooked and shredded chicken on hand in the freezer so I tend to use that (rotisserie chicken would work too!) in this recipe instead of raw chicken.
If you are interested in how I prep my chicken to freeze, head over to this post here.
Now, lets get this pasta cooking! This is seriously so simple- broth, cream, garlic, salt and pepper, and pasta go into the Instant Pot. (If you are wanting to add raw chicken chunks, add them underneath the pasta!)
Cook on Manual (or Pressure Cook) HIGH for 6 minutes. Allow for a 6 minute NPR before turning the knob to quick release.
Once you open the Instant Pot, you will find cooked pasta in a very soupy liquid. This is a-okay and totally normal. (ps. while we are at it, the heavy cream won’t curdle. ?)
If you are using precooked chicken, this is the point where you will want to add it. I add it cold, not frozen. Adding at this step heats the chicken through extremely well.
Stir in the chicken and then turn the Instant Pot onto sauté normal. Once the liquid is starting to bubble, slowly add in the parmesan cheese. The real, shredded stuff! Not the powdered kind you’d find in a green can. ?
The parmesan cheese will melt and thicken the sauce. Keep in mind, the sauce will thicken a bit as it cools also.
Toss the spinach into the pot and stir for 30 second to a minute until it has ‘cooked’ a bit.
The spinach will cook down and shrink quite a bit. Feel free to adjust the amount to your liking.
I hope you love this easy breezy meal as much as my family does!!
P.S. If you love this idea but hate the heavy cream, I have great news for you! Head over and modify my Skinny Alfredo Recipe to add in the chicken and spinach!
Instant Pot Chicken Florentine
(Printable Recipe Below)
Instant Pot Chicken Florentine is a fast, easy Dump and Start meal. This is the perfect weeknight meal because it is on the table in 20 minutes! The pasta, chicken and spinach are covered in a creamy parmesan cheese and garlic sauce. Instant Pot Chicken Florentine will be your families new go-to meal!
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp dried minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz linguine noodles broken in half
- 1 chicken breast, cubed or 1 1/2 cups pre-cooked chicken
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves
Instructions
- Place the chicken broth, heavy cream, garlic, salt and pepper into the Instant Pot liner.
- If using raw chicken chunks, place the chunks into the liquid. If using pre-cooked chicken, skip this step.
- Place the broken noodles into the liquid. Make sure they are all covered with liquid, but do not stir.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the knob to sealing and then cook on Manual HIGH for 6 minutes. Allow for 6 minute NPR before turning the knob to quick release.
- If using pre-cooked chicken, this is the time to add it to the pot.
- Slowly add in the parmesan cheese, stirring the entire time. The cheese will melt into the sauce and thicken it.
- Lastly, add in the spinach leaves and stir for a minute or so until the spinach has cooked down and is coated with the sauce.
Recipe Notes
-If you find that your cheese is having a hard time melting in, this usually means that the liquid in the pot isn’t quite hot enough. Try turning the Instant Pot onto sauté while stirring for a few minutes. That usually does the trick.
Perfect Side Dishes:
Quick and Easy French Bread
BLT Chicken Salad
Garlic Parmesan Green Beans
I LOVE seeing my recipes come to life in YOUR kitchen! Snap some pictures and post them over on my facebook page!
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Instant Pot Chicken Florentine
Ingredients
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp dried minced garlic
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 oz linguine noodles broken in half
- 1 chicken breast, cubed or 1 1/2 cups pre-cooked chicken
- 1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 3 cups baby spinach leaves
Instructions
- Place the chicken broth, heavy cream, garlic, salt and pepper into the Instant Pot liner.
- If using raw chicken chunks, place the chunks into the liquid. If using pre-cooked chicken, skip this step.
- Place the broken noodles into the liquid. Make sure they are all covered with liquid, but do not stir.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, set the knob to sealing and then cook on Manual HIGH for 6 minutes. Allow for 6 minute NPR before turning the knob to quick release.
- If using pre-cooked chicken, this is the time to add it to the pot.
- Slowly add in the parmesan cheese, stirring the entire time. The cheese will melt into the sauce and thicken it.
- Lastly, add in the spinach leaves and stir for a minute or so until the spinach has cooked down and is coated with the sauce.
Notes
Laura says
I’m recently lactose intolerant (but can sometimes still have some if I’ve been good that day. I haven’t found lactose free heavy cream yet, any suggestions? I need to jumpstart my cooking bug bc I’m burnt out, the kids are picky, husband can be picky in other ways (he’s Indian and never loved most pasta dishes) and with a new kindergartener and hyper 3 yo this SAHM Has lost her mind. Daydreaming about going back to work level. This looks delicious…. Might just see if the skinny version could be done with lactaid milk….
karlibitner says
Hey Laura! I’m home with my 3 kiddos everyday so we can have lost minds together. ? I think trying the skinny version with lactaid milk is a fantastic idea! I might suggest using while milk, then the dish would still be creamy. Let me know how it goes with that adjustment!! Hope you enjoy! P.s. commenting back from my bathroom so I could have some silence. ? Solidarity, Sister!
Ashlyn says
What size is your instant pot? I recently got one and this was going to be my first recipe using it, but when I opened it I realized it was a mini size that only holds 3 quarts. Will this be big enough?
karlibitner says
Mine is a 6 qt, but this should work great with a mini. ?? when releasing the pressure make sure to stay close, because your pot is smaller the chances of liquid coming out through the vent while releasing the pressure is greater. If that does start to happen, just close it with the back of a spoon, wait a minute or so and try again. Hope this helps!
Jaime says
Could you double the recipe
karlibitner says
Yes! Double the ingredients, same cook time.
Cindy O'Connor says
Could frozen spinach be used?
karlibitner says
I haven’t ever tried. but I assume it would work well!
Tiffany says
If I double the chicken to 2 chicken breasts (raw) would it still cook in only 6 minutes? Also any advice on how I might could season the chicken? I was thinking of maybe searing it beforehand. Just interested in your thoughts on that? Thanks
karlibitner says
Yes, doubling the recipe will not change the cook time. You could definitely sear it beforehand if you’d like!
Becky Brady says
I followed everything to the letter and my cream totally curdled. What a bummer!
karlibitner says
Hi Becky, full fat heavy whipping cream shouldn’t curdle. Did you use half n half instead? That will curdle under pressure because the fat content isn’t high enough to stabilize it while under pressure. Sorry this one wasn’t a success for you!
Veronica says
Looked for this recipe because of that BJ’s chicken Florentine you mentioned! Trying it tonight!
karlibitner says
Hope you loved it!!
Carla C says
First instant pot recipe I tried. It was good the whole family liked it. When I released the valve it sprayed white stuff everywhere. The Parmesan cheese just stuck to the bottom. Next time I will let people put on top when they have their serving. I would also add garlic salt. I love a salty taste. I would make it again.
Karli Bitner says
Hi Carla- I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! Did you wait for the 6 minutes NPR before turning the knob? This helps let things settle inside of the Instant Pot so the spraying doesn’t happen. Letting the pasta cool a bit before adding the parmesan cheese will help it melt into the sauce instead of seizing up and falling to the bottom. I hope this helps!
Linda says
Hi Karli. How would I adjust this to make it with fat-free evaporated milk? I’m thinking 1 can of evap milk after the pressure cooking and more broth to pressure cook the pasta?
(Ironically, I found this recipe ‘adapted’ on another site WITH credit to you).
Thanks so much for your excellent recipes – and the pretesting done by YOU, lol.
Karli Bitner says
Yes, you could definitely do exactly as you stated!! I am glad you came here to find the original. 😉
Dan says
Turned out well. At first it looked like soup but after cooking it on sauté for a while longer, it thickened up a bit. To be honest, once it cools down, it really thickens up a lot so maybe next time I’ll just take it off the heat. Flavour is pretty good – would be helpful to have a suggested salt and pepper but can always season after so no big deal. Thanks Karli!